Roy O’Donovan thinks his opponent deserves 'an Oscar' despite this blatant headbutt

By Stephen Barry

Former Cork City and Sunderland striker Roy O’Donovan has landed himself in quite a bit of hot water.

Playing for the Central Coast Mariners in Australia's A-League, O’Donovan could be set for a suspension after clearly headbutting Wellington Phoenix’s Manny Muscat.

However the Corkman reckons his opponent deserves “an Oscar” for his well-timed reaction.

Judge for yourself…

“I’ve got elbowed in the face not once, not twice, and the referee hasn’t seen fit to react to that and book Manny Muscat,” said O’Donovan on Fox Sports.

“I walked away and had a player run into my direction, I leaned my head in and I’ve reacted to it.

“He’s gone down like a movie star there. He should get an Oscar for that. He timed it perfectly.

“We shook hands after the game and I’m the only one that has any wounds from the whole event.”

Both Muscat and O'Donovan have been cited for their indiscretions and could face lengthy suspensions.

Otherwise, the match actually worked out well for O’Donovan, setting up two goals to give the bottom-of-the-table Mariners a first win in 12 games.